PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The 38th International Symposium on Halogenated Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), Dioxin 2018, will be held from 26th to 31th August 2018, at the ICE ? Krakw International Congress Centre, in Krakw, Poland. The past 37 years have witnessed major advances in analytical and bioanalytical technologies for POPs detection, increased insights into their formation/destruction and environmental fate, identification and characterization of new classes of POPs, and major progress on their biochemical and toxicological mechanisms of action and adverse health effects. These insights, coupled with global distribution and persistence of POPs, have made them a major issue of increased interest and concern of scientists and regulators, and a major challenge for some countries to reduce their presence in the environment, animals and food. Current POPs research now encompasses a broad range of scientific disciplines, from analytical and environmental chemistry to molecular biology and toxicology, to epidemiology, risk/exposure assessment and regulatory/policy issues. The overall goals of this symposium have been to bring together the world's experts in diverse areas of POPs research and to provide them with a unique multidisciplinary forum in which to communicate and discuss recent results and emerging issues, and to develop interdisciplinary collaborations and translational approaches to addressing global POP contamination. This symposium will provide such an opportunity for the 600-800 participants expected for this four and a half day conference. A Pre-Dioxin 2018 Students' Symposium will be held the day before the main Symposium and this ?student only? meeting will allow participants to present and discuss their work with their peers and give them an opportunity to network with students working in related areas. Each day of the main Symposia will begin with a plenary lecture by a leading international POPs expert followed by a poster session and then 5 to 6 concurrent oral presentation sessions. Monday through Thursday afternoon sessions will include 5 - 6 concurrent oral presentation sessions in two sequential blocks separated by a coffee break. The final day will conclude with an overall summary highlights session describing significant advances reported during the meeting and future challenges in POPs research. Local and international scientific and organizing committees will ensure that there will be significant participation by students, postdocs and young investigators, parity in the numbers presentations by women, minorities and persons with disabilities, and balance in the number of presentations by researchers from various regions of the world. This symposium is a unique opportunity for interdisciplinary communications and interactions among participants from diverse scientific backgrounds and disciplines but with a common interest in POPs. These interactions and collaborations are expected to continue to result in major advancements and new insights into the formation, fate, environmental impact and health effects of these ubiquitous environmental contaminants.